Act Now: Write Site Copy That Intrigues and Ignites

With three to five seconds to capture your potential customer’s attention, you’ve barely any time to work your magic. This is why it is absolutely vital that in addition to proper site design you take the time to really develop your copy.

Imagine your site’s visitors as wild animals. You’ve set out the bait by marketing your site properly, by submitting your site to search engines, by practicing your SEO training (or paying someone else to do it for you), but a wild animal’s curiosity only takes it so far before its instinct is to bolt. If you don’t make the risk all that much more enticing, the wild animal will sniff at the offering, but they won’t stick around. Before you know it, you’ll be staring at their furry little hindquarters as they bound back into the dense cover of the World Wide Web. This is where igniting their interest comes into play.

Grammar: Not Just Someone to Have Around During the Holidays

I’ll be honest. I don’t continue reading a site’s content if I come across poorly constructed sentences, misspelled words, improper use of words, etc. It establishes a particular image in my mind of who the owner of the site is, and I don’t want to make an important decision such as purchasing an item, donating money, or registering for something when I think the wizard behind the curtain is Bubba from the Bayou with a second grade education (no offense, Bubba). I’d much rather associate myself with an educated individual; someone who can back up their claims.

Make certain that you are properly represented. If you write the copy yourself, have it proofed by someone who knows. If you are absolutely enlightened and realize that you don’t have what it takes to put together a sentence correctly, God bless. Hire a professional. The money you’ll spend is worth the PR, trust me.

The First Shall Be Last, and the Last Shall Be First

During my education, I took a series of speed-reading courses. One of the methods for quickly surmising the message of a paragraph was to read the first sentence, or two, and then jump to the last sentence.

My friends, people do this. It is a cold, hard fact of life, so take advantage of it. Your first sentence in a new section, or paragraph, should designate the purpose of the message you’re attempting to deliver. The last sentence should restate the message using different language.

Short, but Sweet

Bear with me while I return briefly to my previous analogy. The wild animal will sniff, sniff, and then, if they become intimidated, they’ll dart. This is why you need to provide your visitors with just enough to give them reason to bite, and then offer them a method for obtaining additional information. Don’t overwhelm them with an absurd amount of content right off the bat. Give them a taste of what it is you’re offering, and then present them with a way to get more information whether by following a link, expanding hidden content, or contacting you directly (the best method in most cases, really).

Flava, Baby!

Last, but not least: write with character. Don’t present bone dry information unless you absolutely have to. Make your content enjoyable to read. It’s hard enough to sit there and stare at a screen emanating light while being oppressed by fluorescent overheads filling out TPS reports; don’t make it any more difficult for your readers to stay awake than necessary. Provide your readers with an enjoyable experience and you’ll not only retain readership, but you’ll make it memorable.

Who knows! Maybe you’re site will be the next water cooler topic.